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Monthly Archives: March 2012

I was reading tonight in Robert Hurst’s book “The Cyclist’s Manifesto” in the section , Reasons to Ride and the first essay The Flying Machine caught my attention. It told about the Wright Brothers love of cycling and how their love led them to open a bicycle shop.

The paragraph that grabbed my attention was one compared riding a bicycle to flying.

“At the risk of sounding absurd, riding a bike is a bit like flying. Diving into a turn on a bicycle provides a delightful floating sensation. The body is hurtling through the air, suspended above the ground on a minimal framework of steel and wheels. Floating on air, or at least, air -filled tires The machine itself, if it is a lightweight bicycle, accounts for a small portion of the total weight of the bicycle rider system. The vehicle is made up mostly of rider, who leans into a turn as would a bird.”

- The Cyclist’s Manifesto

It made me reflect on my ride today and the amazing feeling of lightness and floating I had, and also of many pictures I have recently taken that have captured movement. These pictures sum up something I love very much when cycling. That feeling of movement, of zooming along and suddenly you notice the blur. I love images like that. Ones that happen often when I find myself taking a photo as I am moving. Well, anyway…